State and local homelessness & housing issues – Page 10 – Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Blog

Made in America: Homeless veterans on our streets during the One Night Count

December 27, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

This photograph by local business owner, citizen activist, and photographer David Entrekin always takes my breath away. Click on the image to see the larger photo, and you will see the words on the cardboard carefully laid out to make a sleeping surface: Made in America. That is how I think about homelessness, and it is especially, painfully apt as we think about homelessness among veterans of our armed forces. At least 62,619 veterans were homeless overnight during the January 2012 one night counts across the nation. This shocking number includes veterans in shelters and transitional housing programs, as well as those who lack even basic overnight shelter. Last year, the Coalition developed a new part of the One Night Count designed to improve our knowledge about how many veterans are without basic overnight shelter. Homelessness among veterans rivets people’s attention. People who are quick to think about homelessness as a complex combination of individual shortcomings, societal failures, and economic hard times, come easily to a simple conclusion: no person who risked his or her life in service to this nation should be shivering under a bridge. In the last two years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) has begun working more deliberately and closely with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address homelessness among veterans. The good news is that this effort has meant that new, additional resources, including money, are being directed to reach out to, shelter, support, and house veterans. When the national 2012 One Night Count results were released a few weeks ago, Secretary Donovan at HUD and Secretary Shinseki at the VA proudly noted a 7% decrease in homelessness among veterans since the January 2011 count. For our Veterans Interview Project (VIP), we train volunteers to ask short survey questions …

Why we need revenue on the table in the 2013 State Legislative Session

December 20, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

Early this week, Governor Gregoire released a 2013-2015 biennial budget, outlining how she plans to close the state’s $970 million deficit. The good news is that the Governor included new revenue in her proposal. The bad news is that even with this revenue, she proposed to eliminate cash assistance to 18,000 blind and disabled adults and to completely eliminate the State Food Assistance Program (along with additional cuts to Working Connections Child Care and TANF). Since 2009, Washington has made $11 billion in cuts to state services that protect the health and safety of our communities – we cannot afford any more. Governor-elect Jay Inslee has thus far not indicated any willingness to consider the need to raise revenue in order to balance the state’s budge. It is clear that including new revenue will be crucial to avoid further devastation to our state’s infrastructure and safety net programs. See the Coalition’s postcard campaign for our message to Governor-elect Jay Inslee about why revenue needs to be on the table this session. (Download, print, and send your own!) At our December General Membership meeting, we covered some of the key issues and positive legislation we’ll be speaking up about in the 2013 Legislative Session. Thanks to the more than 50 people who attended, and to our friends from Columbia Legal Services and the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance who dove into policy details and opportunities for our members to help educate legislators about these issues and proposals: Invest in the Housing Trust Fund to built more affordable housing across Washington State Pass Part 2 of the Fair Tenant Screening Act Enact REVENUE to Avoid Cuts to Services and Programs Protect and strengthen life-saving programs: Disability Lifeline Programs: Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) and Aged, Blind, and Disabled (ABD) Assistance Increase the Aged, Blind & Disabled cash grant Restore a …

Fair Tenant Screening Act – What’s At Stake in the 2013 Legislative Session?

December 14, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

In 2009, advocates proposed a bill in our state legislature that would become the Fair Tenant Screening Act. Intended to solve the unjust and unfair tenant screening system in Washington state, the bill’s overarching goals were to: Prevent & address homelessness Maintain housing access for survivors of domestic violence Reduce burden on nonprofit housing providers by increasing tenants’ access to the private rental housing market Ensure access to justice, and fair & accurate tenant screening Address affordability of tenant screening reports This was a community effort with many organizations, including the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, endorsing the bill. In the 2012 Legislative Session, part of the bill successfully passed through the legislature. The Fair Tenant Screening Act, passed in 2012, guarantees increased transparency for tenants when applying for housing. Landlords are required to disclose the criteria they use to screen tenants and the screening company they hire to run the reports. Landlords must also give tenants “adverse action notices” explaining why prospective tenants are rejected for tenancy. What does this mean for tenants? When a company screens a tenant and there is a mistake on that individual’s record, the tenant will know what the mistake is and who to contact to fix it. Before this was passed, tenants had no idea what was on the screening reports and why they were constantly being rejected by landlords. They would spend hundreds of dollars in screening fees at each rental property they applied to without ever securing a place to live and not being told why. This was a huge win for tenant rights in Washington, but as only part of the proposed bill passed, there is still more to be done in 2013 to create a just and fair screening system. Advocates for tenant rights are proposing a robust agenda for the 2013 Legislative Session on fair tenant …

Have you celebrated the City of Seattle budget yet?

December 5, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

The advocacy efforts of SKCCH members and allies paid off this budget season! We wrote, emailed, called, and testified about the very real needs of our homeless neighbors in Seattle. Our mobilization helped to secure over a half million dollars in additional funding for homeless services! This increased funding over the next two years will increase shelter capacity and funding for day services in the City of Seattle. These successes include additional funding for: Rapid Rehousing for homeless people ($200,000 in 2013/2014) Additional shelter services ($100,000 in 2013/2014) Additional women’s shelter ($50,000 in 2013/2014) Funding for homeless day-center services including hygiene in downtown neighborhoods ($200,000 in 2013/2014) We want to thank the Seattle City Council for their leadership in making investments to provide for the basic needs of people who are homeless. Check out Nick Licata’s blog post about the 2013-14 City Budget to learn more. With 2,594 people counted sleeping outside on one night in King County during the 2012 One Night Count, we know how important these services are. There is simply not enough shelter to meet the need. This increase in funding will have a real impact for our community’s most vulnerable residents, and we’re just getting started! Stay tuned for our 2013 State Legislative session priorities, and mark your calendars for Homelessness and Housing Advocacy Day on Monday, February 11, 2013.

Making sure EVERY VOTER COUNTS

February 17, 2021October 22, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

Here at SKCCH we are passionate about providing voter registration and information for people experiencing homelessness. SKCCH interns and volunteers spent the last two weeks out in the community providing information and helping people to register. We went to shelters, day centers, and food banks and helped 70 people register to vote or update their address. Many times we heard people say, “I can’t vote,” and in most cases we were able to respond, yes you can! Although legislation was passed in 2009 that restored voting rights to people with felony convictions, many people are still unaware of their rights. We were able to inform people that as long as they are no longer under D.O.C. supervision, their voting rights are automatically restored. This is the first presidential election since that legislation passed and people were excited to register once they heard they could! One man came through the line to get a sandwich for lunch and we asked if he was registered to vote and he told us he was not registered because he couldn’t register to vote. We asked him why and he said that thirty years ago he had committed a felony. We then told him that he could ABSOLUTELY register to vote. At first, he was skeptical, but we explained the new law to him and told him that as long as he was no longer on parole he had the right to vote. Seeing the joy on his face once he found out he could vote was amazing. He told us that he had wanted to vote all his life but he had thought once he committed a felony his voting rights were stripped away for life. We then helped him register, and as he completed the form, his face began to light up; he …

2012 Youth and Young Adult Summit: Democracy at Work

October 10, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

Many people begin their internships with standard orientation procedures like familiarizing yourself with your computer, the filing system, office supplies and setting up voicemail and email. Not me – I spent my first day of my United Church of Christ Social Justice Internship with SKCCH at the Coalition’s Youth and Young Adult Advocacy Summit and I could not have asked for a better introduction to this small but mighty organization. I was extremely inspired by the 25 youth and young adults who participated in the Summit on September 10-11 and I left each day far more educated on the struggles displaced youth and young adults face because I spoke with them directly about it. It was amazing to have the opportunity to sit down with these young people and listen to the inventive solutions they came up with that could solve their daily struggles. I could not have learned all I did in those two days even if I had sat at a desk for weeks reading up on issues affecting young people who are homeless. On day one of the Youth Summit, the participants, with support from peer leaders and service providers came up with four priorities after rounds of voting and then divided themselves into groups as to which priority they felt most passionate about. The priorities for this year were: Housing Transportation Shelter Employment Each group then came up with key talking points and solutions that they wanted to present to the city council member who they would be talking to on the second day. A detailed outline of these points and solutions is below. 2012 Priorities: Homeless Youth and Young Adult Summit On the first day we also had some amazing speakers present at the summit including Josh Hicks, Jim Theofolis, Steve Daschle, Kim Jones and …

Coalition Advocacy Mitigates the Loss of the Ride Free Area

October 8, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

The Ride Free Area has been an essential service to people experiencing homelessness and living on low incomes in downtown Seattle for 39 years. When the King County Council directed Metro to eliminate the Ride Free Area, SKCCH members immediately took up the cause and advocated across the County for the implementation of a robust mitigation plan. SKCCH members contacted King County, Metro, and City of Seattle officials, testified at County Council meetings, and organized a postcard campaign to provide relevant and vital about the impact the loss of the Ride Free Area will have on people experiencing homelessness. As a result of coordinated advocacy efforts, the City of Seattle has partnered with Solid Ground to provide a free alternative bus service in the downtown area. The two Solid Ground circulators stop at 7 Metro bus stops along a 4.5 mile route about every 30 minutes. This new route includes Harborview Medical Center and other important First Hill services which could not previously be accessed via the Ride Free Area. The circulator buses provide necessary access to downtown health and human services for people experiencing homelessness; however the days, hours, and stops are significantly reduced compared to the Ride Free Area due to funding constraints. More information about the Solid Ground Circulator can be found at: http://www.solidground.org/Programs/Transportation/circulator/Pages/default.aspx Do you have any feedback regarding the word from clients, staff, residents, and guests about the Circulator and the effects on people’s daily lives and health due to the loss of the Ride Free Area? Do you have feedback related to the circulator buses you think SKCCH should know about? If so, contact me at Kathariner@homelessinfo.org or 206-357-3144.

Homeless students have rights, but many of them have no idea what they are

September 21, 2012 by admin

Is there funding for extra-curricular activities under McKinney Vento for homeless students? This question was asked during the Seattle/King County Coalition’s Annual McKinney-Vento 101 training on August 22nd. Jess Lewis from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Katara Jordan from Columbia Legal Services spent 2 hours introducing and explaining the complex issues in McKinney-Vento legislation to close to 100 school staff and housing and homeless service providers. The McKinney-Vento Act requires school districts to immediately register, transport and provide and pay for extra-curricular activities to homeless students. There are more than 26,000 students in Washington state that qualify for McKinney-Vento services, and school districts must pay for these services whether or not they recieve funding under the law. Most school districts do not receive this funding. Washington State has 295 school districts. Of those, 23 receive McKinney-Vento sub-grants. If a student wants to participate in extra-curricular activities, the school district is required to address the barrier to full participation. Often, school districts will look to community service providers, booster clubs, etc. to try and address the specific needs of students. If other resources cannot be found, the school district is still required to find some way to address the barrier to participation. Another common question service providers ask and school staff often find confusing is: What is the distance that schools are required to transport kids to school? Many school personnel have been told that schools will not transport kids out of their county. However, there is no specific distance or commute time mentioned in the McKinney-Vento Act when it comes to school of origin transportation. So, a student attending school in Everett Public Schools, as an example, and finds shelter with her family in Seattle can continue attending her school in Everett if it is determined by all parties that …

Legislative Champion Awards!

July 17, 2012 by admin

SKCCH invited all state legislators from King County who worked hard on our priorities and helped preserve the safety net for the homeless and low income in the last Legislative session to be personally recognized at our General Membership meeting this Thursday, July 19th. I’m pleased to announce that 8 Legislators are able to attend on Thursday to receive thanks and awards from SKCCH members. Legislators attending are: Sen. David Frockt (aide will attend on his behalf) (46); Sen. Sharon Nelson (46); Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (34); Rep. Speaker Frank Chopp (43); Rep. Hans Dunshee (44); Rep. Gutierrez-Kenney (retiring from 46); Sen. Adam Kline (37); and Rep. Tina Orwall (33). This event is open to the public and will be held at the E. Cherry YWCA from 9-11 a.m.

Becca Bill Changes

July 2, 2012 by admin

For the last two years, homeless youth had 3 days to stay in a shelter before staff was required to call and notify their parents of their whereabouts. During these three days, staff could create rapport with the young person, build trust and find out if they were fleeing a violent or abusive situation or taking a breather and that reconciliation with family was possible. After July 1, however, this 72 hour window will end. The Becca Bill was adopted by the Washington State Legislature in 1995 to protect homeless and run away youth by giving parents more control over where their children are located. The Becca Bill is connected to the truancy policy for students in Washington State. The law requires that shelter staff and other service providers contact parents of youth younger than 17 years old with their whereabouts. The enforcement of the law is controversial and two years ago, due to much advocacy, the Legislature passed a temporary provision giving service providers 72 hours to serve a minor before having to notify parents or the police. This temporary extension will expire after June 30th. Service providers will now have only 8 hours with youth before law requires them notify families or the authorities. That is, if the youth show up at all once word gets out. The Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness is communicating with agencies that this change will directly effect to coordinate advocacy efforts and to get the word out about the change to homeless youth, service providers, and the community at large. At our Youth and Young Adult Committee meeting on July 10th and at our General Membership Meeting on July 19th members of the coalition will have an opportunity to discuss advocacy and efforts under way at various agencies to mitigate the potentially …